Charles Dickens

This tea was a Christmas gift, and we have been working in Fortnum Advent sipdowns so hard that I didn’t try my newest tea yet!

This is described as having a light aftertaste of blackcurrant, and the description is 100% accurate. I chose this partly because I thought Ashman would like it a lot, and he did. He likes Paris okay, but I think the flavoring is a little strong for him and he isn’t the world’s biggest fan of bergamot. It is safe to say he only tolerates small amounts of bergamot.

I thought he would like this because it has black and oolong teas (like Paris) but no bergamot and the flavoring level is dialed waaaaay back. I found it quite nice, and can see it being a good tea for a quiet morning or even more – a lovely afternoon tea with a good book and a wee snack like fancy chocolates or nice biscuits.

Advent Day 12

Nice to see a black tea! This is just okay, though. Super mild berry flavor. Black base is pretty mild.

S&V Advent Day 12! I’ve had the last few days of teas before, so I skipped writing notes for those. This one is new! It tastes pretty straightforward. I taste a pleasant black tea plus a strong currant flavor. I don’t usually go for this sort of tea, but I think this one is done pretty well! I liked it cold the best, and I didn’t think it needed milk.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar: Day 12

Happy to see something caffeinated after so many tisanes in a row! This is a surprisingly light cuppa, with a malty black base laced with a bit of fruity black currant (definitely less currant-y than the black currant tea from last week).

In the words of Paul Hollywood, it’s “simple but effective.” I could see it being nice as a cold brew in warmer weather. Not something I would run out to purchase, but fine enough!

I’m not great with simpler teas, because I don’t taste the nuances that others identify. This one does feel simple to me. It’s black tea with the barest hint of fruit at the end. I am certain it would make a delicious pitcher of iced tea that I could drink all day.

The whole leaves were fun to watch bloom as it steeped, and with a touch of honey, I even enjoyed it hot, even if I wasn’t immediately impressed.

sipsby advent, day 5*
(sipsby packages this in no particular order, so your order may be different than mine)

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 12

Yay, a literary tea today! I somehow still haven’t tried S&V’s literary sampler, even though I’ve been wanting to for literally years now ha ha. Somehow it always ends up falling out of my cart in favor of other things! Ah well. I did sign up for their subscription box ($16 for 4 one-ounce packages, what?!) so maybe I’ll see some in there!

I was surprised to see that this has rolled green oolong in it. When a tea is a black/oolong blend, I generally expect the oxidized strip type, plus it’s not obvious in the photo because of how dark the oolong looks. Dry scent was completely heavenly. And I’m really enjoying the steeped cuppa too! It’s definitely mostly black tea, but I do get a bit of that oolong (assuming TGY) leafiness, minerality, and texture as well. The black currant is perfect – mellow but still very identifiable.

Very nice cuppa! Especially like the more mild black currant flavor.

The jam of the day was Apricot-Peach Spread. Apricot is probably my favorite conventional jam flavor, so of course I loved it ha ha. Nothing particularly special about it, but was happy to see a bit ol’ chunk of apricot in my jar. Would have loved more tartness and less sugar, but I tend to prefer the “more fruit/intense” types of jam anyway so no surprise there.

additional notes: Why yes, I AM drinking this while reading David Copperfield on this windy day. I might not have sipped it since the first time I tried it. It’s still just okay…